I hiked this with Brandon. We enjoyed the beautiful fall colors, lots of lakes, and scenic views. We started at the Crystal Lake TH and then hiked toward the Notch, leaving main trail to go to Clyde Lake and then ascended the Northeast Ridge of Mt Watson. We then took the shortest route back to the TH past many other lakes surrounded by fall colors.

Hiked with David up the trail leading towards Notch Pass before diverting past Twin Lakes to get to Clyde Lake. From there we ascended the Northeast Ridge of Mount Watson. There were a few small patches of snow, but the boulder-hopping on the way up was relatively straightforward. The summit views were great, where we were able to see 30 lakes down below us. We went back down the Northeast Ridge so that we could walk by some more lakes on the way back to the trailhead. See "Land O'Lakes" trip report for details.

Hiked Watson as part of a backpacking and peak bagging trip that also included Notch Mountain. Camped near Clyde Lake the first night and Ibantik the second. http://udink.org/2013/06/24/uintas-notch-mountain-area/

11/20/2014, 11/17/2014 Just barely enough snow to ski. Dodging rocks took a lot of time. Took advantage of the MLH still being open.

11/1/2010 Skied from the MLH which was still open.

6/19/2009

2/28/2009 With MOCKBA and Rob. This one is a long way in the winter. Started where the plowing ends on the Mirror Lake Highway at about mile 14.5. Skied in a pretty direct manner along the east sides of Pitt and Page Hill and Haystack to the Haystack/Watson saddle. Then headed N towards Watson and ascended its SE ridge. We booted the last 600 feet or so. It was 10.5 miles and 4100 vertical feet to the summit and it took us 7:20. Then we headed 3.4 miles to the Trial Lake turnoff on the Mirror Lake Highway at about mile marker 25.5 and skied 11 miles on the road back to our car for a total of 24.9 miles and 10:45 round trip. The weather and snow conditions were perfect and a great day was had by all.

9/2/2000 With MM. Started at the Crystal Lake TH and did a loop that included Haystack, Watson, and the west and east peaks of Notch Mountain.

Climbed with RB and Spud, the dog, on a cold weekend with light snow. Beautiful area and easy, straightforward climb to the summit. Once off the trail from Crystal Lake TH (busy place!), we didn't see other hikers or climbers.

Camped near Clyde Lake on Friday 6/21 then summited Mt. Watson the following day. There was some mostly avoidable snow just before reaching the top of the ridge, then we crossed a couple of snow fields on the way to the summit. The views from the summit were outstanding! On the way down we glissaded a good distance down the snow field--a welcome relief from the boulder hopping. :)

Mostly dry ground and lots of warm sun. Probably the last day like this this year. Took me two hours to get to the top. Went home the long way down the north ridge and along the Clyde Lake trail. Absolutely gorgeous!

Baaa. Goat was not successful. Camped across Little Hidden Lake from Mt. Watson and attempted 3 different approaches on the north face. Don't bother with the north face. It's steep as hell and loose. Even some bigger rocks wanted to move under foot. Had to come back down rather than become goatburger. Baaad mountain.

Descended the steep North Ridge instead of heading towards Clyde Lake. Oops! Lots of loose rock and not recommended. Combined this with climbs of Haystack and both summits of Notch to make for a great Uintas day trip. Not one soul encountered after leaving the area lakes behind.

This was the final peak of the day out of a 4 peak grand slam. After doing Bald Mtn, Reids Pk, and Notch Mtn, I continued X-country to the summit of Watson before descending to the Crystal Lake TH. All in all, a great loop to do! Not very hard (3,600' gain, ca. 12 miles), but the views are wonderful.